Wanna Boost Your Glutes?- Switch Your Squats For THIS
Ladies, we’ve always been told that the squat is the absolute best exercise to practice if we want firmer legs and a rounder butt. Everywhere we turn, we keep seeing how squats are the end-all be-all to working out. The squat comes in many forms: front squat, back squat and overhead squat (depending on how you hold the weight bar); one-legged squat; split squat. Each one of these targets your glutes in a different way, but at what cost? Squatting, especially when you choose to add weight, can injure your knees and cause lasting pain. Try opting for a new power move, one that won’t hurt you and can even benefit your body as much as the revered squat.
Squat vs. Deadlift
To be clear, both of these moves can benefit you and your exercise routine. But, there is definitely something to be said of the lesser noticed deadlift. First, you need to know how to properly execute a deadlift.
- Stand with your mid-foot beneath the bar; hip-width stance; toes face out 15 degrees
- Grab the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart, hanging just outside of legs
- Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar
- Lift your chest (don’t drop your hips or squeeze your shoulder-blades)
- Pull the bar up; keep it against your legs.
Now that you know how to do a deadlift, let me tell you why you should: According to David Robson, owner, and trainer at Elite Physique Training Studio, deadlifts work more muscles simultaneously than even the squat does. Both exercises work your core, and the muscles supporting your waist, backside, hips, and lower back, plus, as you add weight, they each work your upper body, but, overall, deadlifts are supposed to target more areas at once. In addition to that, deadlifts are right for you if you’re looking to shape your booty in particular. During a deadlift, you actually rely more on your glutes to carry the weight than your do your legs, meaning your butt gets a better workout.
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Perhaps the most notable difference between the squat and the deadlift is that they have different kinetic sequences, which means they fire muscle groups in different patterns. An article in Train Better Fitness discusses that in 2009, a study found that the squat is a synergistic movement that involves moving the hip, knee and ankle altogether, at the same time. The deadlift uses those same muscles but in a sequential pattern, one at a time. The article makes the comparison that walking forward and walking backward may use the same muscles, but in totally different ways. So while the exercises may stimulate the same muscles, they are not interchangeable.
In the end, any routine benefits from variety. Don’t stick to one move over and over again and expect to get the best results. Mix it up, and when considering the difference between the squat and the deadlift, consider the technique, the muscles you’re working, and how they make your body feel.
